Associate Editor

When the Grover Beach Holiday Parade rolls down West Grand Avenue today, an Oceano man will be honored for his 30 years of volunteer work with the Grover Beach Fire Department.

Reuben Palamaris was named the grand marshal by the Grover Beach Parks and Recreation Department and will lead the parade with Cathy, his wife of 45 years.

A native of Phoenix, Palamaris has lived on the Central Coast for 60 years, mostly in Grover Beach and Oceano. For half that time, he's been a volunteer with the Fire Department.

Palamaris said he started volunteering for the department because he liked helping people by putting out fires.

“It gives you a feeling of doing good, and people appreciate what you're doing,” Palamaris said Tuesday as he stood next to an engine in the Grover Beach Fire Station.

But, he said, things have changed a lot since he started with what was then an all-volunteer force.

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“When I joined, all you did was go see the chief, and they voted you in,” he explained, then added with a laugh, “Actually, it was up to your wife. If she told them, ‘Don't let him in,' they wouldn't let you in.

“Today, you've got to go to the fire academy, be an EMT - it takes a lot of schooling. I learned a lot from the older people in the department.

“When I joined, they used to just blow the horn,” Palamaris recalled about how volunteers were summoned to fires. “Many times I'd get down to the old station on Ramona (Avenue) and find out (the fire) was in Oceano. Finally, we got pagers and those little radios in the home.”

Palamaris started as a “beginning fireman” and worked his way up to engineer before the department upgraded to using full-time, paid personnel in certain positions. Now he's “just a low-grade fireman,” he said with a grin.

Over the years, one of his favorite jobs was driving the engines to keep them in good running shape.

“You know you have to drive the engines periodically, on the freeway,” he said. “They used to rag on me because I'd always drive them to In-N-Out Burger. And I used to take them to Cal Poly.”

A 42-year employee at Cal Poly - 31 of those years as a cook, the rest as a custodian - Palamaris moved to San Luis Obispo for two years but couldn't stay away from firefighting.

“I couldn't stand it,” he said. “I tried to get on with (the California Department of Forestry), but they have a year waiting list. I said, ‘No, I can't take this.'”

At age 63 and retired from Cal Poly since last year, Palamaris continues to volunteer with the Grover Beach Fire Department because he likes meeting new people, especially when fighting wildfires in other areas, like the Malibu fires.

He also loves the job because it earns him lots of smiles from children, and he said helping children is important to him. That's why he volunteers with the Secret Santa program that provides new toys to local needy children at Christmas.

Another project he helps with is the San Luis Obispo County Burn Relay, where fire engines from various departments travel to schools to teach children about fire safety and collect donations to help children who have suffered burns.

Helping children has given Palamaris some of his fondest memories.

“I remember this little girl who got locked in the bathroom about 15 years ago, in an apartment up the street,” he said. “We had to go get her out. She was so happy to get out of that bathroom.

“She came by and gave me a big hug and said thank you. I still see her mother once in a while, and she says her daughter still talks about it.”

Palamaris said he plans to continue volunteering with the department “until they kick me out. I like it. I told them they'll have to fire me.”

To see the parade

The 41st annual Grover Beach

Holiday Parade will start at 10 a.m. today at 16th Street, travel west along West Grand Avenue to 10th Street and disband at Ramona Garden Park.

Santa's Workshop Art and Craft Faire will be held at the park from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and offer visits with Santa, food, entertainment and a craft fair with handmade gifts and artisans demonstrating their skills.

December 1, 2007